The Secure Fence Act: A Case Study

    Last year when Donald Trump became President of the United States he wanted to build a wall that would seperate the U.S. from Mexico. He wanted to do this to stop any illegal drugs, terrorists, or weapons from crossing the border. Athough it was a good idea, many people were

This year’s election cycle brought heated debates and discussions about many things; “the wall”, free trade, NAFTA, immigration issues, borders security and policy issues. Regardless of which side of the political isle you stand, which way the political winds sway in Washington D.C., one thing is certain not to change with the election cycle, and that is, the actual physical border between The United States and Mexico. Therefore, if we can’t change that, and we can’t, then there needs to be solutions to problems that continue to exist between the two sovereign countries. Trade and Security are two of the most important factors for neighboring countries and they must not be ignored. Beyond just good political, diplomatic, and strategic vision it is important to understand there are cultural, education and diversity complexities which takes tremendous and often times delicate maneuvering to come together for the greater good of both economies and governments, as millions of people rely on successful trade agreements and security.

Although the issue with illegal immigration is prominent, the solution is not as clear. Some say the annual quota of 20,000 Mexicans should be raised (Anderson 65). This does not help the fact that there is a 5-9 year wait for over 1 million immigrants to enter the country legally (Anderson 57). "Most illegals are of working age and looking for jobs" (Anderson 57). They don't want to wait years to get a job. Otherwise, there would not be near as many people crossing the border every year. Some people call for a border fence in order to lower the number of illegals (Marcovitz 27). In 2006, Congress began a $2.5 billion project to fence nearly 700 miles of the Mexican border (Marcovitz 27). Many are still pushing for the entire border to be fenced off (Marcovitz 27). Currently, only about one third of the border has been fenced, and over 1,000 miles still remain open (Marcovitz 28). The fence is patrolled by border officers. In 1992 there were about 3,500 border patrol officers. In 2010 that number had grown to over 20,000 (Marcovitz

All through America's history it always had a presidential election every four years, and last years presidential election campaign there were two leading candidates, so to ensure their victory, they both made promises significant changes, creation. All through last year's campaign, a candidate named Donald J. Trump made several promises, and one of his promises could change the way of life in American. Mr.Trump won last years presidential election, and all eyes were on him to the promise vowed to do if and when he is president. That one promise which is opposed by six in ten Americans is that President Trump promised a 'big, beautiful wall' that would be placed on the Mexican and American border. President Trump Proposed that he could construct the wall for 8 billion, but now it is known that wall will cost about $21.6 billion for the wall and that the $21.6 plan doesn't include the $150 million a year to maintain. America shouldn’t Build a Wall along the US/Mexico Border because of the high cost and how it will affect America's economy, also thought the wall would keep out undocumented immigrant from crossing the US border but it is shown that undocumented immigrants contribute over $11 billion to the US economy each year, and lastly the environment that is near the border, and how it will be affected and disturbed due to the construction the border wall.

The wall that Bowden discusses is the barrier between the United States and the country of Mexico to the south. He uses the terms fences, borders, and barricades. Part of the wall is constructed of metal. Other portions are concrete. Each of the materials that are used is hard and designed to be uncomfortable and discouraging to those who see it, effectively creating both a physical and psychological barrier between acceptable and unacceptable populations. The purpose of the wall, according to Bowden, is to keep a certain population out of the United States. Mexican illegal immigrants are crossing the border into the United States in large numbers. For the American government, illegal immigration is an unacceptable set of circumstances and the purpose of erecting a wall was to keep those people from crossing the border into the United States. Bowden explains that the wall is effective only until the point when inclination and desire of the excluded population overcomes the existence of the wall. People will then cross over it or crash through it. If their will is strong enough, then the people will be able to overcome the wall, making its presence outdated and ineffectual. Since people overcome the wall, there is no need to keep the wall or to provide moneys to either enlarge it or for the upkeep of the wall. Each

Jeff Corwin stated that “If this border wall actually happens, it will be an environmental catastrophe. Essentially, what it’s doing is cutting through nature’s bridge, which connects Central America to North America and South America.” Which in many cases this can be supported but then again many people work very hard to become a citizen in the United States for many to come across the border to get here illegally and to most this is unfair. To make another main statement given the rising global instability in North Korea and the Middle East with a strong and supportive border it would be harder for terrorist to get their hands on biological, chemical or radiological weapons. With an insecure border it makes it easier for them to bring them into the United States and launch a devastating attack on the United States.

There are multiple political forces that are playing a part in the border security/illegal immigration controversy. The current administration has publicly made reference that they will not revisit securing the border without a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The conservatives believe that in order to have a discussion regarding immigration reform, securing the border must come first. Depending upon which “side of the isle” that a person takes regarding the securing of the border, they fall in two categories – the conservatives mainly reside on the pros, and the liberal party tends to side on the cons of building a fence.

One of the biggest problem people face on a daily basis in the border of Texas is the dispute about the border wall. Many believe the wall has brought more bad than it has good. Due to the location of the wall certain people had to relocate to another home, which many did not have. Although the making of said wall did provide many men and women with jobs many were forced to give their land to the government so that they could build the wall on their territory.

The author also uses firsthand stories from people to show the ineffectiveness of the wall. One specific story the author mentions is of a man on the Mexican side who lives close to the wall and jumps it regularly just to go to a bar and then comes back the same night. I think this story is already proving that the wall is ineffective and with time it will become more ineffective. With the ineffectiveness increasing so is the support. One man interviewed said “When they first built it, it was not a bad idea—cars were crossing illegally from Mexico and the Border Patrol would chase them. But it’s so ugly.”

Many say that the border wall is a bad idea, but others say it has some benefits. President Trump said in his campaign that he wanted “a great, great wall.” This was to ensure that anyone with no papers doesn’t take the jobs that “Americans” need. Since there are 2 sides of this problem they should both be addressed.

Many claims located in the text either do not represent the whole truth or contain overgeneralized solutions. As an example, one passage says how “Republicans” are attempting to militarize the border and lobbying for for less support of protected animal sanctuaries whose locations range all along the border with US and Mexico. The main act he claims that did these two situations is the Border Security Act of 2006. A quick Google search of the votes casted on that act shows how 53 democrat congress people and 31 democratic senators supported it. The 53 supporting democrats in congress might not show strong bipartisan support, but the 31 supporting democrats in the Senate who sided with the Republicans does show this. These facts show how not just the Republicans wish for border security, but also some democrats in congress and most of them in the Senate desired it. Clifford also claims that since the 1990s, since the first part of the barrier became erected, the wall has claimed more than 6000 lives. At first the number polarized people, but to see the number further one must concentrate and ask questions about it. One must ask if the number contains drug smugglers, illegal coyotajes, or other criminals entering the United States. These types of people should not be let into the US under any circumstance and the border fence assists in

The United States and Mexico border fence has been a recent debate with the people because of the irresistible flow of Mexican illegal in the United States. Living in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, I may be able to see a huge wall or fence being built on our border with Mexico. Other than the economic recession we have to this day, people still have their views and opinions expressed on another topic, the “segregation” wall. Some express opinions on whether this wall will keep illegal immigrants out, others speak on how this is a total disaster both financially and emotionally as in this wall being referred to as “racist”.

Whether or not the United States should build a wall to secure the border around Mexico is a controversial topic. The controversy is mainly over the cost and true purpose of the wall. Many people wonder if there is a need for the wall to be built, while others are pushing for the massive wall to be built. Many do not believe the wall would stop the immigrants from illegally crossing at all. “Human migration routes are like rivers: If they hit an obstacle, the flow finds a way around it” (Chappell). Although the idea of building a wall is controversial, many would agree that the idea is expensive, a waste of time, and ridiculous.

In previous years, many countries and territories around the world have attempted to build walls, and many have had very much success. For example, Most of the walls built after World War 2 and the Cold War still exist today. There were a total of 110 walls built between that time period. Professor Nazli Avdan led a study that had a goal of identifying if a border wall reduced or increased the risk of a transnational terrorist attack. This study found that since the year 1900, transnational terrorist attacks have seen a thirteen percent annual decrease in countries with border walls (Border fences reduce...attacks). This has been a real focal point that President Donald Trump has used to get people to agree with him. Another reason of his includes the disrupting of the funneling of illicit money and drugs into the United States of America (Border fences reduce...attacks). The bonus of the building of the wall is that it will be a visible sign of the government taking action.

Starting in 2006, the United States started to develop the wall along parts of the frontier between U.S. and Mexico. There was 670 miles of the wall authorized to be assembled, and there were many objections to it being built. Besides the oppositions, from 2006 to 2009 there was already more than 100 miles of the wall constructed (Gilman 258). Congress passed the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act” in 1996. The act gave power to the government to create walls or barriers along the border, and it allowed it to seize land from people if it is imperative in protecting the borderline of the country (Gilman 259). In 2006, the “Secure Fence Act” was passed that instructed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a fence stretching from 5 different areas of the border. In 2007, there was 70 miles of the wall built in the Arizona and Mexico frontier. Since this occurrence, the government then shifted its surveillance to the border along Texas and Mexico in 2007, and started suggestions to assemble more than 100 miles of the border wall by 2008 (Gilman 260). Towards the end of 2007, the